JAQUE
How might we re-design a chess set to make it minimalistic, industrial, and easy to use?
Passion Project
Kenza Fernandez
Special thanks to
Alberto Fernandez
Enrique Valdez
Noe Orozco
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This project came about as a gift idea. I wanted to purchase a minimal chess set that could be used as decoration for my significant other, but all the available sets online were either too tacky or too expensive.
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Inspiration: There is a luxurious feeling to a thick, heavy cheese board that I wanted to emulate in my set. Following the industrial kitchenware line, I decided that I wanted storage for the pieces to look as closely to a chef knife roll as possible.
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What I thought would be a quick and silly birthday gift DIY turned into an eight-month period of literal blood, sweat, and tears.
Process
Pieces:
The initial prototype included assessing two CNC workshops and running my AutoCAD designs. Those turned out to be too expensive, so I turned to a hand held drill and then eventually opted for a drill.
Color
Initially, I wanted different patinas for the two opposing colors, so I reached out to a local chemical plant (PYOSA) and tried different patinas with them. I liked the look and feel of the patinaed pieces compared to the plain copper, but my testing users intensely disliked the smell that permeated their fingers long after playing a game.
Paint: There were many attempts, including epoxy, acrylic, and spray paint, but the one I most liked resulted in electrostatic car paint, for which I visited and got quotes for three paint workshops in the Metropolitan area and decided on one based on finish, and color availability. Since the pieces were tiny and the painting machinery was designed for car parts, it was challenging to get the desired finish, and many pieces were sacrificed.
Wood
Following the price abuse proposed by the CNC workshops, I opted to borrow a wood-cutting bench from a friend and bought a metal-friendly circular saw blade
The initial two woods I chose initially were too similar in color to each other and also to copper that I had to change to an entirely lighter wood to make the squares distinct.
Packaging
My childhood best friend is a fashion designer, so I could borrow his expertise and studio to create the roll chef knife bag for the pieces. Using the sowing skills I learned from my grandmother at a young age, I created different iterations of what the bag could look like with canvas, alternating the ways of closings with zippers, clips, or simply knots. I finally opted for both (fake) suede on the inside and leather (again, not real) on the outside and decided that the user would knot this bag.
